A Dead Man Returns Home
by Ak Fred
Summary: Saving the human race from aliens. With a head scratching twist.
1. Chapter 1

A

DEAD

MAN

RETURNS HOME

By Fred Ward Jr

 **PROLOG:**

The year is 2090. It is eighty years to the day of the third world war that devastated the Earth. This war killed over five hundred million people in the blink of an eye. Most of the large cities were completely destroyed and the small one's had severe damage. As well as leaving several thousand more dying, a slow painful death from the radiation of the nuclear weapons used.

At the time it was unclear to most everyone what started the war. All that was known was that the defense computers ran everything. It was soon discovered that what started the war was an asteroid. The defense computer was only as smart as the people that programmed it, and was not able to tell the difference between an asteroid and a missile. All the computer was doing was following its protocols and firing its missiles at their intended targets.

When the military realized what was happening they tried everything they could do to stop the launch. Although the defense computer took their attempts as a threat, went into full lock down and would not accept any form of commands. The military was able to destroy some of the missiles in the air, but it was not enough. Missiles from America, Russia, and a few other Countries' hit their targets causing massive devastation throughout the world.

At first there was help from everyone to rebuild, but that didn't last long. Soon after the war there was violence and more death. It seemed like the gangs ran the roads. It was not safe to go outside ones home at any time day or night. Within the first year, in what was once called the USA, there where another one hundred thousand people killed over a tank of gas.

The war did bring one good thing with it. During its destruction it depleted the world's oil and energy reserves. As well as it did not allow the knowledge to look for more oil or other kinds of energy to escape its destruction, for several decades. It was this factor that ultimately stopped the violence and reunited the people once again to rebuild.

The people of Earth had to learn how to live all over again. Some people had it harder than others, but it seemed like if it was needed help was there. They all had to learn to stay warm, how to eat, and how to get from one place to another. Basically the war had knocked the human race back to the horse and buggy days. It was amazing that the human race could adapt and go on, but they did.

Now 80 years later it would seem that the people of Earth had learned something. As the world grew again there were no longer two separate large governments. Now they formed a one world government and ultimately one person to run the world. Although sadly like before there was several religious groups trying to seize power for their own reasons. What the people of Earth do not know is that the devastation that happened before can and will happen again, only this time on a larger scale. It would be total annihilation of the human race.

There is a small town in southern Alaska that has a chance to escape the destruction. All the people of this town must do is follow one man. The only problem is that he is supposed to be dead. They will soon find out how alive he is, and he does not care if they live or die. He only wants his mother.

Then the man finds out something about the town. Something that is almost unbelievable even to him. He then decides he has to save the Earth. Even he will find out that it will not be as easy as he thought and he will endure a sever loss that he may not be able to recover from.

CHAPTER 1

THE RETURN

The night was like most any other in the valley, except it was rather cold. The weather has been strange in Alaska since the war. There was no longer seasons, it stayed one season all year long. Now during the day time the temperature could reach over one hundred degrees F, and at night the temperature could get as cold as negative thirty degrees F. Somehow Mother Nature was able to adapt and allowed the trees to stay green all year long.

Over the years the people of Alaska learned to adapt to the changes in the weather. At night they would bundle up a little more to stay warm. During the day they would wear clothes that would let them breath. As the years pass, they hardly notice the change. After eighty years the weather was normal to the people in Alaska and the surrounding areas now.

Three miles outside of the small town of Hider in southern Alaska lived an old man named Carlson. He is one hundred years old. Carlson would sit in the town square and tell stories about his life to whoever would listen to him. There were a few adults, but mostly it was children that would be listening to his stories. Carlson would always end his stories with "What has happened in the past can and will happen again."

Carlson had lived before the war, during the holocaust and into the present. Most of the people in Hider thought that he was just a crazy old man, but they also did not see him as a threat. Although there was something he knew about the people of Earth and the town of Hider that he would never say to anyone in the town. If it was necessary he would take his knowledge to the grave. He felt that the human race would not be able to accept the truth of, who they were and where they came from.

Around twelve in the morning Carlson was sitting in a rocking chair that belonged to his mother. He sat there staring into the fire place with a puzzled look on his face. He had not slept very well for the last four days. He would hear a voice in his head that would wake him. This night was no different and the voice was always saying the same thing. "He's coming." This would repeat several times throughout the night. It was this reason that Carlson could not rest and he found himself unable to sleep most of the night.

For some reason Carlson felt like he should know what was going on, but he just could not figure it out. He did his best to block the voice out of his head, but it seemed to get worse as the days went on. Tonight was the hardest on Carlson. He'd heard the voice in his head several times an hour, since early in the morning. Carlson felt that he knew the voice, but could not place who it was that was speaking to him.

As he sat there a solid silver wolf came over and placed its head on Carlson's lap. This wolf stood four foot tall at his back. It was rare for a wolf to grow to this size in this part of Alaska. The wolf knew that there was a problem and did its best to comfort Carlson. Staring at the fire Carlson stroked the wolves head and stated "I do not understand what the voice is trying to tell me that I'm hearing in my head."

While Carlson sat there petting the wolf and staring into the fire the thought occurred to him "Maybe the voice he was hearing was coming from Fleet Marshal Carrie Jenson." As he sat there thinking Carlson leaned forward said out loud to no one really "The message has to be coming from Carrie. She is the only person that would know how to send messages this way." He then sat back in the chair with a smile on his face after figuring out what the voice was, but now he was puzzled again. "Who is coming?" He thought to himself.

Without warning the wolf jumped to his feet starring at the window. The hair on his back was standing up and he was showing teeth. He then let out a low growl. Carlson got up and walked over to the window to look out. When he did not see anything he opened the window to get a better look. As the cold air came into the house, Carlson looked out and he heard something that sounded like thunder. "It is the wrong time of year for thunder." He said to himself out loud.

He then listened carefully to the noise he heard. A few moments went by as Carlson listened, he then smiled and said to the wolf "That's not thunder, that is the sound of thruster engines from a very powerful ship." The wolf looked at him and gave Carlson a nod as if he understood what was said.

Within a couple of seconds a streak of red light went across the sky, followed by a loud sonic boom that shook his home. Carlson watched the light as it went off in to the distance. The light dissipated about a nine hour walk away. As he stared off into the distance the voice in his head said once more "He's coming." Carlson smiled closed the widow and said "No he's here."

He then closed the window went to the door opened it and said to the wolf "Go find your boy Nanook." Nanook ran out the door then stopped, looked back at Carlson and gave a whimper. "It's ok Nanook I can sleep now. Go find your boy." Carlson stated and Nanook ran off with a loud howl. "He'll find his boy." Carlson said with a smile closing the door then headed for his bed.

As he climbed into bed Carlson was glad. For his long wait for the boy to return was finally over. He laughed and said to himself "The boy left and a man has returned in his place." Still smiling Carlson slipped out into a peaceful sleep. As he slept his life force slipped from his body and he passed on with a glad heart.

…

Within a couple minutes of landing the loading ramp of the ship opened and a young man stepped out. He was dressed in a solid black uniform that firmly hugged his body. He had long blonde hair that was in one solid braid to his waist. He also wore a belt around his waist with a pair of laser pistols.

As the man looked around he gave a shiver when he saw his breath and said out loud to no one "I have forgotten how cold it gets here." It was then he heard the howl from a wolf. Giving a small grin he stated "Nanook is coming. It has been a long time I have missed him." The man then put on a heavy leather jacket that dropped to his knees and strapped a sword on his back.

The man started to walk in the direction of Carlson's home. When he got about ten feet away from his ship he stopped, took a small device off of his belt and pushed a button. As he put the device back on his belt, the ship he came in looked to blur and then disappear. He then started walking again.

The man put his hair inside his jacket and zipped it up. He took a mask out of his pocket and put it on. The mask fit him like his uniform almost skin tight. The man heard Nanook howl again only this time it sounded like it had a lot of sorrow to the sound. "Something is not right." The man stated shaking his head, but he pushed on.

With the way he was trained the man walked for almost four and half hours, but he covered the distance that would take a normal person nine hours to do. It was then he realized that he was being watched and followed. Whatever was following him was doing it with such stealth that it left the man feeling uneasy, yet he continued walking.

He slowed his pace so he could get a better look at his surroundings. The man scanned everything he could see trying to figure out what was tracking him. He then came to a complete stop when he thought that he had seen something. After a moment he saw that it was just a rabbit, so he just started to walk again.

The man continued to walk looking over everything. Whatever was tracking him was good and was able to remain out of his eye sight. There were not too many things that could track him this well and the man knew that it was not a person. So with knowing that it was not human, he unzipped his jacket and revealed one of his laser pistols, so it could be easily reached if it were needed. The man was constantly looking all around, but he continued.

As he continued to walk the man noticed that the sun was about to rise. With the way the weather changes so rapidly since the war, one does not travel at certain times in the day. These times are during sun rise and sun set. More people than he could count had disappeared during these times over the years and were never seen alive again.

The reason for this is because during the rising and setting of the sun, the temperature changes so fast that a blanket of thick fog covers everything. This fog is so thick one could not tell where they are. If they do not wait for the fog to lift they could get injured or worst of all they would more likely get killed. Many of animals in these woods hunt during this time and a human moving around when they can't see is an easy target.

There are a few trackers that can move through the woods during these times, but even the best can fail. Most of the trackers will wait for a while before heading out during these times unless there is no other choice. They may know what they are doing, but the danger is too great for most of the trackers and so they will refuse track at these times.

The man stopped and looked around still not seeing whatever it was that was following him, but he knew that he was still being watched, he could feel it. The man was only stopped for a minute when the sun peaked over the mountains behind him and a thick blanket of fog came in around him. The fog was so thick that when he held his hand up he could not see it. The man remained totally still but was listening to every sound in the woods. He was preparing himself for some sort of attack.

The man stood there not moving for almost thirty minutes. Then as he noticed that the fog was dissipating slightly he heard something. It was leaves being stepped on and then he heard the growling of a bear. The man saw a shape in the dissipating fog it was a bear, a very big bear. The bear was only about thirty feet away. With no place to hide or run the man reached for his pistol that he had revealed earlier.

The fog lifted enough for the bear to see him. The bear then stood up on its hind legs and let out a roar. The man remained motionless with his hand on a pistol. The bear stood almost thirteen feet tall. Looking at the bear he realized that he had seen this bear seven years earlier. The man heard another noise near the bear then it was gone.

Still watching the bear he scanned the area looking for whatever made the other noise he had heard. During this time the man had a feeling of fear coming over him. Although he was trained to overcome these feelings he was unable to shake the feeling. Finally the man decided to just focus on the bear and worry about the other threat later.

Before the man could react a streak of silver came out of the woods to the left of the bear. This silver streak hit the bear hard enough to knock it to the ground. Then the streak was gone again. The bear quickly got back to its feet let out another roar and started to charge the man. The man saw the streak again realizing that it was a wolf.

As the wolf came out of the woods once more, he bit down on the bear's neck, and using its body weight ripped its neck open. The bear fell to the ground once more with blood gushing out of its neck. Surprisingly the bear got back up to charge again. It was only then that the man quickly drew his laser pistol and shot the bear in the mouth. The bear fell to the ground one last time with smoke coming from its mouth and did not move again.

After shooting the bear the man looked over towards the wolf. He noticed that the wolf was posed to strike once again. Only this time he would be striking at the man. Seeing that there was blood dripping from its mouth and that the wolf could strike at any time, the man slowly lowered his weapon, then put it away and took his mask off. He then said in a calm voice "Hello Nanook."

With there no longer being a threat the wolf stood up straight and cocked his head. He stared at the man for a moment and then gave a playful bark. The man then knelt down and the wolf came over to him. As the man started to pet the wolf he stated "You have gotten big since the last time I saw you." Nanook leaned his body into the man enjoying the petting he nearly knocked the man to the ground. He then looked at the bear lying dead near them and gave a low growl.

The man stood up and walked over to the dead bear to get a closer look at it. He saw that the bear had several scars on its body. He then noticed that the bear was missing his left ear and eye. The bear had lost these seven years earlier when the man first found Nanook. "I remember you. You left both Nanook and me with scars. I always knew that we would meet again to finish the job that Nanook's mother had started." The man stated.

…..

Seven years ago the man was fourteen years old and just out for a walk in the woods after his father's funeral when he lost track of the time. The sun started to set and the fog came in quick. The boy waited for the fog to lift and he was attacked by this bear. The bear tore a chunk out of his side and he thought that he was going to die. The boy started to crawl away, but the bear came up on him again.

The boy knew in his heart this was the end, but before the bear could do any more harm to him a steak of silver came in to attack the bear. It was the largest wolf that the boy had ever seen. The wolf bit down on the bear's ear ripping it off. Then the wolf came in for another attack this time the wolf bit into the bear's left eye. Unfortunately the wolf was not quick enough this time. The bear was able to get hold of the wolf and put all of its weight onto the wolf. The bear then roared and ran off.

The boy was able to get his bleeding to stop enough to move. He worked his way over to the wolf lying on the ground. Checking over the wolf he was saddened to find out that the wolf had been killed. The boy sat there stroking the wolf's fur almost crying when he heard a noise. The boy looked around and saw a wolf pup that could not be but about a month old. He then looked at the dead wolf and stated "You saved my life. Now I will save the life of your pup."

It took the boy and the wolf pup several hours to get back to his house, where the boy's mother was waiting. When they got there, the boy's mother redressed the wound on his side and then she suggested the name Nanook for the wolf pup. The boy agreed to the name and it appeared that the pup did as well.

When the boy was feeling stronger he started to go out again. Nanook went everywhere with him they seemed like no one could separate the two of them. It was like that for a couple of years, Nanook had become family.

…..

The man looked at Nanook and said "Well that's one less thing I have to take care of." He walked back over to the wolf and gave him a quick pat down. "Go get yourself cleaned up and meet me at Carlson's." The man stated. Nanook put his head down and whimpered. The man looked at him and said "I understand. Everything will be ok. Now go get cleaned up." The wolf gave a quick bark and ran into the woods.

About ten minutes later the man was standing in front of Carlson's home. Once again he got the uneasy feeling that he was being followed. Before he could look around Nanook walked right past him. This startled the man slightly, because he could not see how an animal of Nanook's size could move with such stealth, but he followed the wolf anyway.

When the two of them walked into Carlson's home Nanook ran to the bed room. The man stopped and looked around the home and nothing looked out of place. He then looked at the fire place seeing a few glowing coals. He thought that it was a little strange that there was not a good fire going. The man then headed for the room that Nanook went into.

As the man walked into the room his heart sank in his chest. He saw Carlson lying in his bed with Nanook's head on his hand whimpering. Realizing that his one true friend had passed away, the man placed his hand on Carlson's chest and stated "Carlson you were the only real friend I ever had. Your wisdom and knowledge of all your years will live on in me. It will not be forgotten." As he stopped talking a single tear ran down the man's face.

The man turned to Nanook, pulled a small bag out from his jacket and said "When I left the town years ago the first person I met gave this to me. He told me that there was a way to save someone's memories. He told me how to use it and also that I can only use it once so I had to be sure of the time. I believe that now is the time to use it. I could have used it over a hundred times in the past but didn't." Nanook replied with a cock of his head then nodded as if he understood what was said.

The man then opened the bag and started to sprinkle something over Carlson's body that looked like dust. At first nothing happened, but within a few seconds the dust started to glow a light shade of blue. The man then placed his hand on Carlson's head. The glow intensified to glowing almost white. The man held his hand in place as the glowing light started to travel up his arm. During this time the man thought that his arm was on fire.

When the glow was gone from Carlson's body, his body had disappeared as well. The glow encased the man now. He then reached over and put his other hand on Nanook's head. The glow transferred to the wolf. It took several minutes for the transfer to be complete. When the glow dissipated the man collapsed on the bed passing out from the pain.

Almost 4 hours had passed when the man awoke to a voice in his head. As the man got up he looked around trying to pin point the voice he was hearing. He also had these new memories going through his head. He heard the voice again saying "Are you alright Captain Wolf?" The man put a hand on one of his pistols and quickly got to his feet still looking for who was talking to him.

While he was looking around Nanook walked in front of him. Nanook then looked up at the man and the voice in his head stated "Yes the voice your hearing is coming from me Nanook." The man looked down at Nanook and asked "OK. How is that possible? Animal's cannot talk." "OK I will make a long story short because you don't have a lot of time. Sit down." The voice stated.

When the man sat down Nanook sat as well. Looking at the man Nanook said

…..

"I am not from this world I am from another dimension that I will explain more about at a later time. You know me as Nanook my actual name is Rayfin, but for now just call me Nanook it will be easier. You nearly killed Nanook when you transferred the memories to him. I had to step in and stop that from happening. His mind is in the dimension where I came from.

I know that what I'm saying is a little hard to believe yet I am telling you the truth. This might help you out. Five years ago you met someone that gave you a bag and told you how to use it. Now I know that you told Nanook all that. Now I will give you some information that you did not tell Nanook about. The person that gave you the bag was not dressed like everyone else you saw. Plus you never saw that person again. I am that person.

This should help as well you are a Captain in the Izainian Military and the Liaison for the Zaxian government. Your name is Captain Jim Wolf and you have seen things that most people could not dream about. Finally the first month you were gone you were shot in the head and was blind for a week. When your eye sight returned your eyes remained solid black as they are still today. Finally your name is Jim Wolf but you prefer to go by Jimmy."

…..

Jimmy listened to the story and when the wolf was done he replied with "Ok." He then got up to move around when Nanook got in front of him again. Then the voice stated "You are going to take me at my word. Why?" Jimmy looked down at Nanook and said "Yes I am. You know too much about me and there is one thing you know that only one other person knows. I have never told anyone about the man I met five years ago so that would have to be you."

Jimmy then sat back down and said "I only want to know one thing. Why are you helping me?" Nanook turned his back on Jimmy and stated "That is a long story. For now the best answer I can give to that question is helping you could help me and my people. I will explain more when time is not so critical." Nanook looked back at the man and saw him give a nod in agreement. Then the two of them then walked out of the house together.

"It is strange having these memories, but the one that stands out the most is the fact that Earth was a prison planet for Izainian Government. Although I already knew that, but not many Izainian's do." Jimmy stated. "You will get used to them and they will help you in time. I will say this you do not have all of Carlson's memories." Nanook replied. Jimmy gave him a nod and followed Nanook out of the house.

Once outside the two of them turned to look at Carlson's home. Nanook said "This house has had someone living in it for over two hundred years. It is going to be a shame that no one will occupy it anymore." Jimmy gave a slight smile replying with "This house will be lived in again. I will see to that. I plan to live in it when my job is done."

Jimmy reached into his jacket and withdrew a small box. He then opened it revealing a red button inside. "I created this box to save certain things large or small." Jimmy said and then he pushed the button. A red beam came out of the box and encased the house. Within a couple of seconds the house was gone leaving just a vacant lot. Looking into the box one could see the house inside, perfectly preserved the same as it was before it was in the box.

As Jimmy closed the box he said "The house is saved for the right time to put it back. All I have to do is open the box again and the house will return to its proper size." "That is a nice device to have. Have you used it before?" Nanook asked. "No. I have only run tests with it, but I am willing to use it at this time. Let's head to town now Nanook." Jimmy replied and Nanook nodded.

Jimmy turned towards the town and put his mask back on. He then asked "So Nanook I can hear you, can everyone hear you as well?" Nanook cocked his head and replied with "Only those who I want to hear me can hear what I have to say. Why?" "I was just wondering." Jimmy stated then started walking.

As they walked Nanook was in front of Jimmy about five feet. Jimmy then noticed something strange so he slowly looked around, stopped and said. "Wait a minute Nanook." The wolf stopped and turned around to see Jimmy looking off into a bunch of trees. "We are being followed by someone with excellent stealth capability." "I do not see anything." Nanook replied. Giving a slight snicker Jimmy stated "I think it will be fine let us keep going."

By nine in the morning the two had reached the town. They both stopped still in the woods giving one final look around. Nanook then gave a growl. "Yes I see him as well. He is the one that has been following us." Jimmy stated and the wolf gave a nod realizing that there was no danger.

The person that had been following them was a young boy about fifteen years old. The one thing that seemed strange to Jimmy was the fact that the boy could move with such stealth. It was as if the boy was born in these woods. Jimmy then held up his hand to the boy and gave him a wave. The boy disappeared with total silence. "Well we should keep going." Jimmy finally said and they entered the town.

As the two of them entered the town people stopped what they were doing and stared at the man. The first thing to catch the people of the town's attention was a sword he carried on his back. As the stranger walked he pulled open his jacket revealing his two laser pistols he wore. By the time the two of them got to the middle of the town there was a crowd of over one hundred people looking at them.

The town's people noticed that on the sheath of the sword and the holsters for his pistols, there were symbols that they had never seen before. As well as coming off the bottom of both holsters there were bright red beads hanging down. It seemed strange to some of the people because the beads did not fit the look of the uniform. Then they noticed the beads coming off his sheath for the sword were the same.

They had also never seen the type of weaponry he wore. As well as he had on some kind of strange uniform that was solid black. The fact that he had on a mask is what really bothered the town's people because they could not see his face. The town's people were more scared of the fact that they could not see the strangers face, than they were over the fact of the weapons he carried.

It also seemed strange that he traveled with a large wolf that seemed ready to strike at anyone that got to near to them. Some of them thought that they knew the wolf, but they put that out of their minds as they tried to figure out who this stranger was. The man kept looking around at the people waiting for one of them to do something stupid.

The stranger stopped and looked around at the crowd of people and said "Nanook I think they're scared of me. What do you think?" Nanook looked around then replied with "I think some of them are. As well as some think they can take you in a fight. Then there's the ones that are just curious who you are." "Yes I see what you mean. I guess they will find out soon enough." Jimmy said.

While the two stood motionless in the middle of the street a young girl wiggled out of her mother's grip and ran into the street. She stopped right in front of the stranger and stated "Hi. Who are you and why are you wearing that mask?" Jimmy looked down at her and just nodded. He was completely amazed that this little girl was as brave as she was. At first Jimmy just stared at her trying to figure out how she could have gotten out of her mother's grip and run into the street with him there.

This girl stood about five feet tall, had bright green eyes and jet black hair that went to the middle of her back in one solid braid. She wore the typical clothing that the rest of the town's people wore. He then looked back up at the crowd of people. The man saw a worried look on all of the people's faces with the fact that the girl was there with him. The man did not want to reveal who he was at that time but he did give the people a shake of the head. This was to make sure that they kept their distance. He then turned to walk around the girl giving her another nod.

The girl got back in front of him again. She stomped her foot and stated firmly "You're not being polite I said HI! Now you're supposed to say hi back." When the girl finished she crossed her arms and had a mad look on her face. "She is a brave little girl, but she does not understand the danger that she could be in right now." Nanook stated. Jimmy nodded in reply.

He then knelt down to be at the same height as the girl. The crowd of people started to quickly move in on them. Nanook gave a low growl and showed his teeth. When that seemed to do no good, Jimmy drew both of his laser pistols and pointed them at the crowd of people. All the people stopped their advance and backed off. When he thought that they were far enough back the stranger put away his weapons.

Jimmy just knelt there looking at the girl for a moment. He then gave another look around and saw a lady in the crowd with her hands over her mouth. He then looked back at the girl, noticing that during the display of the weapons she didn't even flinch. He then shook his head and gave a snicker. He just could not believe that this little girl seemed to show no fear.

Staring at the young girl he stated "You are very brave little girl. Although you are also very stupid." "What? Why?" The girl asked dropping her arms to her sides. "Because I am a stranger to you and you have no idea what I can do to you. Now I think you should go back over to your mother." Jimmy replied. The girl gave him a strange look and then said "I'm not stupid and I'm not scared of you even though you are a stranger." He did not reply to her statement but just stared at her through his mask.

The girl looked at him thinking for a moment then put her hand out and said "My name is Kimmy Shyrock. What's your name?" He took her hand, shook it and replied with "My name is Jimmy." The girl then smiled and stated "I'm Kimmy and you are Jimmy. Now we are no longer strangers." "No that is not true Kimmy. I am a stranger until your mother says I'm not." Jimmy replied to her. Kimmy then had a look of sadness when the man stood up.

A man from the town dressed in animal skins came running at them quickly. Jimmy saw him coming and stepped between him and Kimmy. This man was not afraid of the wolf that was with Jimmy he just came running at him with some kind of weapon in his hand. As he reached Jimmy he started to swing the weapon at him.

Everyone was completely amazed to see that Jimmy was dodging all the swings. They also saw that the wolf just stood there not interfering with what was going on just watched. Jimmy then reached up and caught the weapon as it came in again. As it came to a stop Jimmy put a leg behind the man and pushed him to the ground. Once the man was on the ground Jimmy dropped an elbow in the middle of his chest.

Now with the man in pain and having a hard time breathing Jimmy picked him up off the ground with one hand and said "Don't start something that you cannot finish Jinx. Remember the last time you started something with me you regretted it." Jimmy then released him and as Jinx was moving away from him he asked "Who are you?" "You will realize that soon enough." Jimmy replied as he watched Jinx slowly walk away in pain.

Jimmy then pointed at the Kimmy's mother and motioned for her to come over. When the lady got to them Jimmy stated "Kimmy is very brave I like her, but you really need to teach her about strangers Alice." The lady was stunned by the fact that this stranger knew her name. She then asked "Who are you and how do you know who I am?" "Kimmy knows who I am and I am no stranger to you. Although to Kimmy I am until you say otherwise." Jimmy stated and then walked around both of them.

Both Alice and Kimmy stood there in the street and watched the man and wolf walk away. "Mom he said his name is Jimmy." Kimmy stated. Alice looked at her daughter and said "That is not possible. The only Jimmy I knew died five years ago." "So he's still a stranger to me?" Kimmy asked. Her mother replied with "Yes he is still a stranger to you and me as well."

Walking slowly through the town Nanook asked "Why did that man attack you Jimmy? You could have easily have killed him." "I have had some dealings with Jinx in the past. He is a smart man but is also stupid in a lot of ways. I felt that there was more of a threat to Kimmy than to myself at that time." Jimmy stated. Nanook gave him a nod and then remained silent for a moment while the two of them walked down the street.

As they walked Nanook Stated "You handled that well with the girl, but how could you know Alice and not Kimmy?" "I didn't say that I did not know Kimmy. What I said was that I was a stranger to her. I know who she is, but she does not know me, but Alice, I've known her since we were children. I know her father better and that's where we are going now." Jimmy replied. The wolf raised his head and stated "Your logic is strange."

The two of them stopped in front of the barber shop. "Wait here. I should not be long." Jimmy said and walked up the stairs. Nanook followed him to the top of the stairs, turned around and sat down. Jimmy gave one last look around then entered the shop. When he walked in the people of the town started talking amongst each other about who this stranger was.

As he walked into the shop Jimmy saw three men inside. They all looked frightened when he walked in. Jimmy motioned for two of them to leave. When the two had left the shop Jimmy shut the door and started to remove his sword. He put it on a table then he removed his jacket and put it on the coat rack. Finally he removed his mask revealing his three day old beard and his waist length blonde hair braided down his back.

"I need a shave but please do not touch the hair." Jimmy said as he sat in the barber's chair. The barber had not moved an inch since Jimmy entered the room and he was still not moving. Jimmy looked at him and said "John have a cup of coffee and relax." John remained motionless a little while longer then had a cup of coffee. When he finished it he walked in front of the man sitting in the chair to get a better look at him.

As John got a good look at the person sitting in his chair he said "So Jimmy how long has it been since you have been in my shop?" Jimmy shook his head and replied with "Too long." John then pulled his razor and shaving cream out. He began to give the best shave Jimmy has ever had. When he was finished Jimmy asked "So how much do I owe you?" "This one's on me Jimmy. Although you really need to do something with your hair." John replied.

Before Jimmy could say anything John walked over to the door and stepped out. As he stepped outside the first thing he noticed was Nanook sitting at the top of the stairs. John reached down petted the wolf on the head and said "Hello Nanook it's good to see you again." The crowd of people were completely amazed at what John had just done but didn't say anything. After taking a moment to pet the wolf John then walked over to Alice and Kimmy.

Once he was standing in front of them John looked at Kimmy and said "Grandpa needs your help in the store. Will you help me?" "Of course grandpa I will always help you." Kimmy replied reaching out to take his hand. Alice stopped her and asked "Dad what's going on in there? Who is that man in your shop?" "Alice trust me I would never put my granddaughter in harm's way. You know that." John stated. Alice looked at her father and then moved out of the way.

Watching the two of them walk back to the shop Alice still had a lot of concern over what her father was doing. She was also trying to figure out who this Jimmy was because to her knowledge the only Jimmy she had ever known was dead. Alice then said softly to herself "I know dad you have always kept her safe."

When Kimmy was walking with her grandfather she asked "I saw you pet that wolf, weren't you scared of him?" John looked down at Kimmy smiled and replied with "Kimmy I have known Nanook for seven years and no he does not scare me." Kimmy returned his smile and stated to herself "So his name is Nanook I like it."

As the two of them walked into the shop Jimmy looked at them and said "Hello Kimmy." Looking at his face for the first time with a little bit of shock she stated "Hello Jimmy. What happened to your eyes?" "Kimmy that is not a nice way to start a conversation. Jimmy I apologize for the way she asked that." John quickly said. Jimmy laughed and replied with "There's nothing to apologize for, she is a child and children say the most honest and truthful things."

Jimmy motioned for Kimmy to come over to him. She walked over and Jimmy pointed at a scar in the middle of his forehead and said "About five years ago I was shot by a laser pistol on stun and was blind for a while, when I was able to see again my eyes were solid black." "Wow. That must have hurt." Kimmy replied. Jimmy looked at her and stated "I don't remember if it hurt or not."

"May I hold one of your guns?" Kimmy asked. Jimmy shook his head and smiled then said "I don't think that would not be a good idea. They can be very dangerous." "I understand." She replied. Jimmy looked over to John and stated "Maybe in the future you may have the chance to have one of your own laser pistols Kimmy." She did not respond but John gave him a nod.

"Kimmy I would like you to properly braid Jimmy's hair. Would you be able to do that for him?" John asked her. "Oh yes I love to braid hair." Kimmy replied and went behind Jimmy. "I thought that I did a good job with that." Jimmy stated. Kimmy gave a small laugh and said "Nope the braid is to lose. If the braid is left like it is it could fall out at the worst possible time." Jimmy paused for a moment and said "Ok."

Kimmy started by taking the braid completely out then grabbed a brush and started to brush Jimmy's hair. She ran into several knots and asked "You have such beautiful hair how come it has so many knots in it?" Jimmy then replied with "I am not the one who usually braids it. My wife does it most of the time but I have not seen her in two days." "You're married?" John asked a little surprised. Kimmy gave a giggle and Jimmy stated "Yes going on four years."

There was a moment of silence and then Kimmy asked "What is your wife like, is she nice?" Before he could answer Kimmy hit another knot with the brush and he said "Ouch that hurt." "Sorry about that Jimmy." Kimmy stated. Jimmy then said "Yes she is very nice but she is a lot older than I am. That's a hard one to explain." "Going for the older women now Jimmy are you?" John stated. Kimmy gave a loud laugh and Jimmy just gave him a glare.

After a short while of Kimmy combing his hair she finally asked "So Jimmy how much older than you is your wife?" Jimmy remain silent for a moment he was not sure how to explain the age difference to a ten year old girl. Jimmy finally decided that it would be best to just tell her the truth and see how things go with her. He then said "Kimmy my wife's name is Kameri and she is four hundred years older than I am." Kimmy just replied with "Ok." Although John stared at Jimmy amazed over what he had heard, but he did not say anything.

While Kimmy was working with Jimmy's hair John walked over to the table. Looking at the sword still in its sheath he asked "Jimmy, may I look at your sword please?" "Yes you may, but be very careful it is sharper than your razor." Jimmy replied. John nodded and extracted the sword. While he looked it over John was amazed by how well balanced it was. As well as the craftsmanship that went into making this sword.

As John was admiring the sword Kimmy said "Alright I'm almost done. Grandpa I need a piece of leather to tie the braid off." As John started to look around and Jimmy stated "There is a piece on the sheath. Go ahead and cut it off." John found the piece of leather on the sheath and cut it off with the sword. He then put the sword back into its sheath and handed the leather piece to Kimmy. She took it with a smile and tied it at the bottom of the braid.

"All done and your hair looks a lot better now Jimmy." Kimmy stated with a smile. As he looked at his braided hair in the mirror and returning her smile Jimmy said "Thank you Kimmy you have done great work. Don't tell my wife but you do a better job at this then she does." She looked at him with a strange look and then asked "Jimmy how is it your wife can be four hundred years older than you?"

Jimmy stared at her for a moment trying to figure out how to explain Kameri's age to Kimmy. After a long pause Kimmy said "I'm sorry Jimmy that is none of my business." He looked right into her eyes and said "Kimmy never apologize to me, it is a sign of weakness. If you're wrong then you admit it, but in this case you are not wrong." Kimmy nodded to him and waited for his answer.

He took another moment and then stated "Kameri is four hundred twenty one years old. The reason for her advanced age is the fact that she is from another planet." Kimmy and John both stared at him for a moment and then Kimmy said "I did not know that it was possible to get to another planet." Jimmy nodded to her and replied with "There are a lot of planets out there and a lot more to find." Kimmy gave him a nod and a smile.

"I really should be getting back out to my mom, because she says you are still a stranger." Kimmy said and headed for the door. Jimmy stood up and said "Kimmy wait. Yes I am still a stranger, but I still have to pay you for braiding my hair." He walked over to the coat rack and pulled out a solid silver bracelet with markings on it that were unknown to Kimmy, but did look kind of familiar to her and gave it to her.

Kimmy stood there staring at the bracelet in her hand and said "I can't accept this Jimmy. It is worth more than the work I did. It just would not be right." "Yes it is worth a lot more, but this bracelet is only given to the bravest of young women. You are very brave and I think you should have it and I will not accept it back." Jimmy finished by putting the bracelet on her right wrist. Kimmy gave a small smile and a single tear of happiness ran down her cheek when she said "Thank you." Jimmy nodded.

As Kimmy was about to leave the shop Jimmy asked "Kimmy I noticed that when you heard the age of my wife it did not even bother you at first, why is that?" Kimmy stopped turned around and said "It is not my place to judge someone. I may be only ten years old, but I know that there are things that cannot be explained away. If you are happy that is all that matters." Jimmy gave her a smile and gave a nod then Kimmy left the shop.

After Kimmy left, Jimmy looked over at John and asked "Are you sure she is only ten years old John?" John gave him a nod and then stated "Kimmy has always been smart for her age. I know that it is hard to believe that she is as young as she is." Jimmy then said "Kimmy will go places with her life if she is given the opportunity to do so."

John motioned for Jimmy to follow him and said "I have something to show you. I found it in the mountains shortly after you disappeared." The two of them walked over to a wall where John pulled on a latch. The wall opened up revealing several antiques. Then Jimmy saw a sword with similarities to his own hanging on the wall. Reaching for the sword John stated "I knew that this was not from this world when I found it. So when I saw your sword I knew it had to be from the same place you had been all this time."

Looking over the sword Jimmy stated "You are right John. There is no material in this sword that can be found on this planet." John then said "I want you to have it and I will not take no for an answer." Jimmy looked at him for a moment and then he said "Thank you John, I should really pay you for it." "No I found it. I have no money invested in it so I need nothing in return for it." John stated firmly. Jimmy nodded and took the sword from the hilt with great care, because he knew that the sword was as sharp as his own. When he walked back over to the table John closed the wall again and then followed Jimmy.

Jimmy stopped moving when the sunlight struck the blade and made a closer inspection of the sword. As he looked it over Jimmy noticed Hammer marks on the blade. He ran his finger along the side of the blade and said "John this is a very old blade, they are no longer forge blades by hand." Your sword has the same dimples on it." John stated. With a smile Jimmy replied with "Yes I know I hand forged my sword myself." John gave him a nod and they continued to move over to the table.

When they were at the table Jimmy turned his sheath around revealing a second slot at the bottom. He slid the new sword into it with a click. He then reached for his jacket and put it on. Then he put his sword back on and grabbed both handles of the swords, he then released them and nodded. Jimmy put his hand out and shook John's hand. While shaking his hand John said "Do not trust Sam the Mayor."

Jimmy looked directly into John's eyes and said "You are holding something back." "Yes Jimmy I am, but it is my secret to keep." John stated. Jimmy nodded to him and the memories from Carlson's transfer came to the surface. He knew what John was hiding but chose to keep it to himself Jimmy nodded once more and then left the shop.

While Jimmy was inside there was talk from everyone on who this stranger was. Some of the people had some strange ideas some had logical ones. The one thought that most of the people had was that this stranger had to be part of the military. Although the people of the town had never seen anyone from the Earth Defense Force they knew that it existed. Being the fact that they had never seen anyone in the military they thought that it was the only logical idea.

Although they were all shocked when they saw Jimmy stepped out of the shop. He just stood at the top of the stairs and looked around at the town's people. "Oh my god it is Jimmy!" Alice said in a surprised voice and then fainted. Nanook was the first to get to Alice and he would not let anyone near her. He then said "She is fine just a little shock." Jimmy nodded and Nanook moved away.

Everyone stared at him in silence. Jimmy was supposed to be dead he left the town in the fog of sunset and disappeared. Very few people had ever been seen alive again after they have gone into the fog. Everyone started talking about where he may have been. Jimmy just shook his head because he knew that the people had no idea where he had been.

Looking out over the crowd of people Jimmy stated very sternly "Where is my mother?!" A voice came from the crowd saying "She is at her home." Jimmy stared in the direction of the voice with his hand on one of his laser pistols and said "She had better be ok." With nothing more said both he and Nanook started the walk out of town again heading for his mother's home.

…

To fully understand the surprise from the town's people one has to go back several years. Jimmy from a young age was taught to suppress his feelings of anger and to turn the other cheek. For this reason he received no respect from the other children in the town, not even the ones younger than him. In truth he really did not care. He would just do his own thing.

Jimmy had always been a loner and would disappear for days. When he would return no one would ask where he had been. Both his mother and father knew that he just needed to relax and let his temper or what he called his monster to calm down. If he would let his temper show he would not be able to control it and he was raised to always be in control. So he would try to get out of the situation before his monster could show its face.

There was only once that he could not get away and his temper got the best of him with his father. Jimmy's father was a strict man, but he was fair. Jimmy lost control of his temper and lashed out at his father. Before he knew what was happening his father had punched him in the face knocking Jimmy to the ground. He then told Jimmy to think about what he was about to do before he gets up. Jimmy took a couple of minutes and thought before he got up off the ground. He was then able to relax his temper and that was the last time he lost control for several years.

About seven years ago Jimmy's father died suddenly and without warning. The whole town was at the funeral. While sitting in the front row a single tear of sadness ran down Jimmy's face. One of the boys that were there laughed and said "Hey look Little Jimmy Boy is crying." Jimmy then stood up put his hands on the coffin and said "I'm sorry father I cannot do this anymore."

He stood there breathing deeply trying to not show his temper. Then tears started to flow from his eyes as he realized that he would not be able to control it. Jimmy then turned to leave the funeral and all the children saw that he was crying. The kid who spoke before smiled at him and said "Boohoo." Jimmy turned around and again put his hands back on the coffin breathing deeply.

Jimmy stood there for a moment then quickly turned around. He grabbed the boy who made the statements and pulled him to the coffin. He had the boys arm twisted behind his back so much that his arm popped out of its socket. Then Jimmy stated firmly "All these years you all have disrespected me and I have let you. Now you disrespect me at my own father's funeral. Well it will never happen again!" Jimmy finished his statement with stomping his foot down on the boys knee breaking it.

Jimmy then grabbed two other kids and threw them against the coffin. One of them hit with so much force that he was knocked unconscious. The other kid got up and turned to fight. It was a short fight he did not even get a hit in before Jimmy started to hit him. He hit the boy three times in the chest breaking two ribs and then finally Jimmy punched the boy in the nose. The boy fell to the ground with blood flowing out of his nose.

He looked down at the first boy and said "Jinx if you or your brothers start something with me you will need to finish it or the next time you will be buried near my father. The three of you have no idea what kind of monster you have just unleashed." Although Jinx was in a lot of pain he just looked up and gave Jimmy a nod. Jimmy gave one final look around and walked off without another word.

All the people of the town were stunned at the display of power from Jimmy, but for some reason no one tried to stop him. Jimmy's mother was the only one that was not shocked she knew that one day something like this would happen. So when it finally did she was almost happy, because she knew that no one would treat Jimmy the same way ever again. For this reason all the kids in the town became really scared of Jimmy.

Once again Jimmy disappeared for a couple of days after his father's funeral, but when he emerged again he had a wolf pup with him. None of the other children would try to pet the pup they were afraid of what Jimmy would do to them. Some of the adults would talk and pet the pup and Jimmy had no problems with it. John even helped Jimmy try to train the pup.

It did not matter that all the kids were scared of him Jimmy continued to do his own thing. He was able to suppress his temper again and the monster had not shown itself for two years. Until one day a new family moved into the town. They had just moved out of a bad town filled with violence and they had a son that had a bad attitude. The whole family was warned about Jimmy and not to mess with him.

This did not scare the boy, he went looking for Jimmy. The boy wanted to prove that he was going to be the dominant person in the town and if it meant fighting Jimmy to be it, he would. The boy figured that because of the town he had come from he could easily win in a fight. The people in this town had never seen what he had been through.

It didn't take long for the boy to find the person he was looking for. He went right up to Jimmy and for no reason punched him in the face. The punch knocked Jimmy to the ground, but he was back on his feet just as fast. Jimmy quickly moved in and grabbed the boy by the throat pinning him to a porch beam. He then threw his own punch, but didn't hit the boy, but instead he hit a four by four post splitting it in two.

Jimmy drew back again and said "I don't know you. So take some advice don't start something you can't finish!" A small crowd had gathered during this time. Jimmy then let the boy go and started to walk off. The boy then stated "Are you that much of a coward that you will not hit someone?" Jimmy stopped and with his back to the boy he replied "You have been spared a lot of pain so I suggest that you just leave me alone and go home."

Jimmy could tell that his temper was starting to show again. In truth he did not want to see that side of his temper again. Jimmy just stood there breathing hard trying to calm down before he did something he might regret. He then slowly turned back to look at the boy and said "Please leave me alone. Just leave and no one will get hurt today." He then turned to walk off. The boy yelled at him saying "Don't turn your back on me you coward!" "I am not a coward I'm just trying to save you a lot of pain." Jimmy replied with a deep breath.

As Jimmy turned around the boy started to go after him again, when he got to Jimmy the boy threw several punches at his face and chest. Jimmy was knocked to the ground once more this time with blood coming from his mouth. Jimmy then smiled shook his head and slowly got off the ground. Once on his feet still smiling Jimmy stated "If it is a fight you want, then you will have one." With those words Jimmy moved in for a fight.

When the fight started it was clear that the boy stood no chance in winning it. For every one blow that the boy landed Jimmy landed three. Finally Jimmy grabbed the boys arm twisting it behind his back and he wrapped his other arm around the boy's neck. Jimmy stood there choking the life out of the boy. The boy was doing everything he could do to get out of Jimmy's grip, but he just looked like a fish out of water flopping around.

Just before the boy was about to lose consciousness John walked out of the crowd of people and said "Jimmy that's enough. Let the boy go." Jimmy at first chose not to release the boy he just gripped his arm and throat tighter with an evil look on his face. Jimmy's monster had taken control and was not listening. John then moved within arm's reach and said again very calmly "Jimmy let the boy go."

Jimmy looked at John for a moment finally realizing what was happening and then he released the boy. As he fell to the ground the boy was gasping for air. Jimmy had respect for John and would listen to what he said. John then looked at the boy and said "The fight is over you lost. Now leave and never mess with Jimmy again because next time I will not stop him." Jimmy stood there looking at John and then nodded.

The boy looked up at Jimmy and yelled "That is no way to fight. You don't choke the life out of someone. You hit them until they can't get up again!" Looking down at the boy Jimmy stated "No the way to fight someone is to win the fight and I did. I do not want to see you again for a long while or I will finish what you started." Still gasping for air the boy looked to the ground.

With the fight seeming to be over Jimmy relaxed a little. Then without warning the boy moved his arm between Jimmy's legs hitting him in the groin. Jimmy bent over slightly in a great deal of pain. The boy then came up off the ground to continue the fight. The boy hit Jimmy several times and when he was knocked to the ground he started kicking Jimmy in the ribs. John quickly moved in and restrained the boy from harming Jimmy anymore.

A look went across Jimmy's face that the people of the town had not seen in two years and although he was still on the ground Jimmy stated firmly "John let him go!" When John refused to let the boy go Jimmy slowly got to his feet and stared at him. John tightened his grip on the boy and said "No Jimmy this is a job for the town council." Jimmy gave a slight look around then nodded and relaxed once again.

Somehow the boy got out of John's grip and attempted to attack Jimmy again, but he was too slow Jimmy was able to get the boy back into the choke hold again. Then with a quick jerk the boy's neck was broke. Jimmy stood there as the boy fell to the ground and stated "If he dies he dies he was warned." Jimmy then started to walk off.

All of the town's people just stood there in amazement. They just could not believe what had just taken place between the two. The boy's father came running in to check on his son. When he realized that his son was dead the man tried to go after Jimmy, but John stopped him. While he was being held back the man named Sam started yelling "You killed my only son. I will never forget this day and one day I will avenge my son's death." Jimmy looked back at him and gave him an evil smile.

Jimmy then said "I may have killed your son but he had several chances to walk away. His death is not on my hands it is on yours for not teaching him right from wrong." Sam continued to stare at him and then yelled "You killed him with your hands, so his death is on your hands I will not forget this." Jimmy's expression went blank and then he replied with "Your son started something that he could not finish. Sam you don't need to do the same." Before Sam could respond Jimmy turned and walked away from him.

The following day he walked through the town and into the mountains. He did this right at sunset. Jimmy felt it would be best for him to leave the town. It was as if something was calling to him. As he got to John's shop Jimmy stopped but did not say anything. John looked at him and gave a nod. Jimmy acknowledged him with a nod of his own and then started to leave the town.

Sam was able to convince the town council that Jimmy needed to be held accountable for what he had done. With the approval of the town council the decision was to put Jimmy on trial for the murder of Sam's child. Several of the town's people went to stop Jimmy before he left the town and caught up with him just as he was leaving John's shop.

It was like a mob just to get one person. As they neared Jimmy a slight explosion happened in front of the town's people. When the smoke cleared the people heard a loud voice say "You all know who I am and you will stop pursuing Jimmy or you will all die!" When the people could see that it was Carlson who was speaking to them they all stopped, then they saw two other people in some kind of strange uniforms.

When Jimmy approached Carlson he was told to go to his home and wait for the three of them. Jimmy nodded then looked back at the town thinking it would be the last time he would ever see it. He shook his head turned back to Carlson and said "Maybe I should go with the town's people." "No Jimmy It would be better for you to go to my home and wait for us to get there." Carlson replied. Jimmy nodded to him again and then walked around him.

As Jimmy walked out of the town a thick blanket of fog rolled in around him but he continued to walk. Several of the people in the town watched him leave and disappear into the fog. They all knew that that more than likely this would be the last time that Jimmy would be seen alive. No one from the town tried to stop Jimmy from leaving they just watched him go. Once the fog lifted there was no sign of Jimmy, Carlson, or the two strangers. The town's people spent three days looking for Jimmy. Finally the town council declared him as dead. He was not seen again until today five years later.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

THE REUNION

As they reached their destination Jimmy stopped. While he looked around noticing that it seemed that nothing had changed in five years. This was the house he was born in, grew up in, and he still knew where everything is supposed to be. Both he and Nanook then walked up to the house, all the while looking around at everything.

Jimmy then lead Nanook over to a barn and opened the double doors. As the sun light came into the barn it revealed a large object with a tarp covering it. After a long moment of silence Nanook asked "What is under the tarp Captain Wolf?" After another long moment Jimmy replied with "Something that I hope I will get to drive with my mother." He then closed the barn doors and they walked back to the house.

Standing on the front porch, Jimmy reached up and knocked on the door as if he were a complete stranger. After a moment of silence he knocked again. When there was no response the second time he said "I have a strange feeling. I don't know what it is but something does not feel right." Nanook nodded and stated "Try the door." Jimmy grabbed the handle and it did not turn.

The two of them stepped off the porch and Jimmy thought that he heard something. As he listened the hair on Nanook's back stood up and he gave a low growl. Jimmy reached down patted the wolf on his side and said "Relax Nanook. I'll handle this." Nanook stopped in his tracks but did not relax. He was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Jimmy first took off his swords then he removed his leather jacket. He then put the jacket on the porch and put his swords back on. As he stood there motionless, Nanook could see that Jimmy stood six foot tall and with the almost skin tight uniform he wore Jimmy was very muscular. He then proceeded to walk out around the corner of the house.

As he cleared the side of the house Jimmy spotted someone dressed all in red about twenty feet away. He continued to walk until he was ten feet away from the house. Jimmy saw that the person was wearing a red skin tight uniform with a flawless muscular body. There was no hiding the fact that the person was female. She was also wearing a mask so Jimmy could not make out who she was.

To his knowledge the only women left that wore this uniform were not on Earth. This left Jimmy feeling uneasy because he did not know what to think of the person he was looking at. For all he knew this lady had to be a fake. Although still this was an Elite Warriors uniform so he knew that he could not let his guard down.

As Jimmy looked over his adversary he noticed she was wearing some certain items that he knew quite well. Around her waist there were two lazar pistols as well as on her back she had a sword. The strangest thing that Jimmy noticed was the fact that she had a total of four bravery bracelets. She had one on each arm and one on each leg. To his knowledge the most one woman had ever received was two. This told Jimmy if this person was for real she might know more about fighting than he does.

It did seem a little strange to him that the woman just stood there and was not in a defensive posture. So in good faith Jimmy did not take one. Right now he was more curious about who she was and why she was here. There was a long pause as he looked over the woman a little longer. Jimmy then had the feeling that someone was watching him from behind. Even though he had the feeling he did not take his attention away from the woman.

Just then Nanook came into view and was ready to strike at the woman. "If your wolf comes any closer he dies." The woman stated raising her right hand to one of her pistols. Jimmy tried to place the voice but couldn't so he raised a hand stopping Nanook's advance and said "Nanook I can handle this there is someone watching from behind me. Watch the person and if necessary stop them from harming me or this woman." Nanook gave a low growl to the woman then turned to watch the watcher.

"Who are you? Show your face!" Jimmy demanded. "In due time but not now." The woman replied. Within the time it took to blink an eye the woman drew and fired both of her weapons at Jimmy. He did not move or even flinch as two red laser beams passed on both sides of his head. Knowing that she did not miss by accident Jimmy reached for one of his pistols, but before he could remove it he had to quickly dodges four more laser blasts.

He was able to dodge the first two easily. The third one caught him off guard and he had to flip backwards to avoid it. This left Jimmy on the ground on one knee when the fourth laser blast came in. With nowhere to go Jimmy could only think of one thing to do. He quickly extracted one of his two swords, and stabbed it into the ground with the edge away from him. As the laser beam hit the sword it split the beam in two. By doing this the laser beam went to the sides of him in two different angles.

Right after Jimmy stood up pulling his sword from the ground and looked at it. Where the beam had hit the edge there was a slight glow of red but quickly dissipated. He then looked at the woman once again and could not help but think that she was one of the Elite Women Warriors, although Jimmy still had no idea who this person was.

He watched the woman closely for a moment remaining totally still. The woman lowered her weapons, put them away and stated "Very nicely done, but I'm not finished yet." As she reached up and slowly extracted her sword Jimmy stated "I hope you're as skilled with that sword as you are with the laser pistol." "I guess you will find out now won't you?" The woman stated. Jimmy nodded and they approached each other.

When they were only a few feet away from each other they started to circle each other. The woman was the first to strike but Jimmy was able to easily deflect the sword. The two of them began a deadly dance with the striking of swords. It was as if the two had been sword fighting together their whole life. All the blows were deflected neither of them could get a good hit in.

As the dance intensified the hits got stronger and harder. Every time the swords came together sparks would fly off them. Even with the speed that the swords were moving neither of them had the upper hand. They were an equal match for each other. The only way for either of them to win this battle was for one of them to make a drastic mistake.

The two of them continued in the dead lock battle for almost ten minutes. Then Jimmy gave a powerful strike that seemed to end the fight. As the two swords connected the woman's sword shattered. Jimmy then went in for the killing blow, but just as the sword reached her neck Jimmy stopped it. For a moment he just stared at the woman. He then lowered his weapon and stepped back.

Knowing that the fight was over Jimmy knew that he could just demand that she reveals who she was. Although something told him that this was not the way to win the fight. The woman stood there looking at her shattered sword not saying anything she then looked up at him but remained silent. Jimmy was amazed at the fact that her sword had shattered he had never seen anything like that before. Finally Jimmy decided that the fight was not over yet

Still staring at the woman Jimmy extracted his second sword and said "With you defeated like this there is no honor in my win." Jimmy finished his statement by turning the second sword around and handed it to the woman hilt first. The woman hesitated at first then she nodded and reached out and took the weapon. She then said "Honor is everything in a battle if you do not have it you would have lost the battle before it has started." After hearing those words Jimmy realized who it was that he was fighting, but he kept that information to himself.

With the new sword now in her hand Jimmy once again took a fighting stance. Without moving he watched the woman, noticing that she did not take a stance. In fact she just stood there holding the weapon point down. As he watched her Jimmy realized that the fight was over and he lowered his weapon once again. Even though the sword was lowered Jimmy remained ready to use it if necessary.

The woman looked at both swords in her hands one intact and one shattered and lowered her head with a sigh. She then said "You are a man of honor Captain Jim Wolf. There is only a select few men that have the true honor to wear the black uniform of the Protector and the beads of an Elite. I'm sorry I had to make sure you were one of them." The woman finished her statement and went to hand the sword back to him.

Jimmy raised a hand stopping her and then said "Keep it. What is a warrior without a sword? Besides the sword is not what I want from you. What I want is to know who you are." He then put his sword away already knowing the answer. Nanook walked over and said "I do not think it was a good idea to have lowered your guard." Without looking away from the woman Jimmy just held a finger up to Nanook silencing him.

The woman looked over at Nanook, smiled, stabbed the sword into the ground and said "Your wolf is right it was not a good idea to lower your guard, but I am a person of honor as well and would not take advantage of the situation." "How can she hear me?" Nanook stated with a cock of his head. Jimmy looked at him and said "I'm not sure."

Jimmy was looking at the woman as she reached up and started to remove her mask. As the mask slowly came off a solid braid of blond and silver waist length hair dropped out. When the mask fully came off both Jimmy and Nanook saw the woman's face for the first time. She looked to be in her mid to late 50s and the only flaw on her face was a scar on the right side of her face. The scar went from her ear to her nose.

After a few moments of silence Jimmy said "Hello mother." A tear ran down the woman's face and she embraced Jimmy in a long hug. "It is so good to see you. I have missed you so much." She stated as Jimmy returned the embrace. When the hug was over Jimmy's mother said "We should go inside and talk. I know I have some questions and I'm sure you have some too." When Jimmy nodded she pulled the sword from the ground and the three of them went in the house. On the way into the house he picked his jacket up from the porch.

As Jimmy picked up his jacket he looked over at Nanook and asked "Did you find out who was watching me?" Nanook looked up to him nodded and replied "Yes it was that same boy that has been following us. I did not do anything about him because he did not seem to be a threat to us." Jimmy gave a nod and then started to walk again.

Jimmy's mother then turned around and asked "Who is this boy that is following you? Do you think he could be dangerous to us?" Jimmy smiled at her and said "I think that we will be safe from that boy. The three of us are a formidable force." "More so then you realize Captain Wolf." Nanook stated. Jimmy's mother then stated "This is weird listening to a voice in my head." Jimmy just smiled at her and then motioned for them to enter the house.

As they walked into the house Jimmy looked around, and it seemed to him that nothing had changed in five years. "I will be right back. I need to change clothes." Jimmy's mother said and motioned for them to sit down. As she went into the other room Jimmy removed his sword and sat down on the couch. When he sat down it felt weird to him to be back in the house he was raised in after being gone all these years.

While he looked around a lot of memories and feelings came up to the surface that Jimmy had suppressed over the years. These feelings in his line of work could get someone killed. Jimmy made the decision to bury them once again, maybe another time he could let them show, but not for now. Although it was extremely hard for him to do and Nanook noticed.

"I know this is hard for you Captain Wolf but remember your training and you will get through it." Nanook stated as he moved closer to him. Jimmy looked at the wolf and then replied with "Sitting here in this house again makes me question my decision to return to the town." "Never question why you do something. You make a decision and then you deal with the consequences weather it is right or wrong." Nanook stated. Jimmy looked at him and just nodded.

A few minutes went by and his mother came back out of the room. She was dressed in normal clothes and was carrying the uniform and weapons. As she came into the room she smiled at Jimmy and walked over to a wall just to the left of the fire place. When she stopped Jimmy got up and walked over to her to see what she was doing.

As he stepped beside his mother she put her right hand on the wall. A red light scanned her hand and a moment later a key pad flipped out of the wall. She then pushed a series of numbers finally when she pushed enter the key pad flipped shut again. Jimmy could hear the sound of air hissing and gears turning. Nanook quickly jumped to his feet ready to strike with a growl.

While he stood there listening Jimmy saw the wall push inward about four inches, and then it slid to the right behind the fire place. With the wall open it revealed a false wall with several items hanging on the wall. The main things that caught Jimmy's attention were three uniforms hanging there. As well as there were several weapons hanging on the wall that he had never seen before. Nanook gave a low growl when he saw the weapons on the wall.

Jimmy looked at the weapons and asked "Mother where did you get these weapons and what are they?" His mother looked at him and said "I have collected them over the years. Most of them are not functional and a lot of them I do not even know where they came from." He then saw a sword hanging and said "That is a beautiful weapon." She smiled and stated "I had to hold that weapon by the blade to hang it. I could not lift it by the hilt." Jimmy just gave her a nod.

As he looked at the sword Jimmy knew where it was originally from. Jimmy's wife has one just like it and it had been handed down through the years from her family members. He chose to keep the information to himself about where the sword had come from for now. There were several other weapons he had no idea where they came from. He then saw a laser rifle with a monitor on it. Jimmy was about to ask to see the weapon but he chose to wait.

His mother then hung her red uniform up and placed her weapons in certain spots. She then pushed another button and the wall closed up again like it was never there. Jimmy's mother looked at him and said "So Jimmy you are going to introduce me to the wolf? Because I know that is not Nanook." Jimmy looked at his mother then at Nanook and back at his mother again. It took a moment for him to understand what she had said.

"We should probably should sit down this might be a little hard for you to believe." Jimmy said motioning for his mother sit. As he and his mother sat down on the couch Jimmy looked at Nanook. A moment later Nanook said "Go ahead and tell her." "Ok enough with the games!" She demanded. A slight smile came on Jimmy's face and he said "Alright mother. Mother this is Rayfin. Rayfin this is my mother Jean Wolf. Rayfin is from another dimension."

Jean's face went blank and with no expression in her voice she asked "Rayfin what is your last name?" The wolf looked at her then turned his head away. When he did not answer Jean went back to the wall again and reopened it. She then returned to the couch holding a small octagon box. Jean placed it on the table, pushed a button at its base and asked "Is this you?"

Jimmy leaned forward to get a better look at the device. As he watched it there was a light that came out about two feet from the base of the device. A moment later there was a hologram of a man standing on top of the device. The hologram spun in a circle then dissipated back into the device. Jimmy looked at his mother in puzzlement. He had no idea what he was looking at.

Rayfin looked at her and said "No Jean that was not me but I do know who he is. My last name is Wolf. The man in the hologram is named Siferdeem Reece. Yes Jean I know that your maiden name is Reece." Jean just sat there staring at the wolf not saying anything. Jimmy looked at his mother and then at the wolf trying to comprehend what was going on.

After a few minutes of silence Jimmy spoke up and ask "What kind of device is that and who was that man?" He finished his question looking back and forth from his mother and the wolf. Finally Rayfin spoke "The device is called a hollow cam and it is over seven hundred years old. As well as the image of the man you saw Siferdeem Reece, he is your Grandfather on your mother's side six times over and I'm the same on your father's side."

Both Jean and Jimmy looked at each other for a moment. Then Jean asked "How is that possible? Yes I know that this device has been in my family for that long, but how could it be the man you say it is and how can you be who you say you are?" "For now the best thing I can tell you is to search your history and you will find some answers. Maybe not all, but you will find some. I cannot go into any more detail right now because there are more pressing things the two of you need to discuss." Rayfin stated and stood up.

Rayfin turned his head back to look at them then stated "I have to leave now, but when I return we will have to go to town. Trust me when I say you are running out of time. As well as when I return it would be better if you both just call me Nanook." Both Jimmy and Jean nodded and the wolf left the house. When he was outside he ran off into the woods.

After Nanook left Jimmy pulled his sword out of the sheath and looked it over. He saw several nicks in the blade from the battle with his mother. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a black stone and started to run it over the edge of the blade. Jimmy looked up from what he was doing and said "I have a lot to tell you mother, but at this time we do not have a lot of time so let me finish what I have to tell you before you ask any questions." She smiled, nodded and then Jimmy started his story.

…..

When I left the town five years ago some of the people of the town tried to stop me from leaving. In truth I had no idea where I was going, but I felt that I would know when I got there. Carlson and two other people stopped the town's people from trying to follow me. Then he told me to go to his home and he would explain some things to me when I got there.

I walked through the fog to get to Carlson's house. It was as if someone or something was leading me to my destination. As I got there I saw a man dressed in the same kind of uniform I'm in now, and a woman dressed in the same kind of uniform you wore mother. It seemed strange to me that I felt completely comfortable around them.

Carlson told me that he had heard what had happened in town and to go with these people. He said they will take care of my problem. With the fact that Carlson had never lied to me I left Nanook in his care and left with the two people. I went with them into their ship not even knowing their names. I guess I just never asked.

When we left Earth and made the jump to light speed I started asking questions about where we were going. I was amazed that the two people answered every one of my questions to where I understood them. It was almost as if I had known them for years and we had just met. They asked me what had happened in the town and I told them. The one thing that I liked was that they did think I was wrong in what I did.

The lady offered to sword fight with me and I accepted her challenge. I thought that I was good but I was a little cocky and started to swirl my sword around. She smiled at me and said that I was going to lose if I remained cocky. I did not listen and if I had been in a real fight I think that I would have died. After that I stopped being cocky when it came to using any weapon.

On the way to Izainia the both of them honed my skills with several different weapons. I thought that I was doing really well and thought they taught me well. The way they taught me is the same way that I teach people today. Find someone's strong points and their weak points, and then work them together to make them the best they can be.

After two days of travel we landed on the planet Izainia and I was taken to a processing area. That was where the problems started. There were twelve other boys there and all of them seemed to have a problem with me. At that time I had no idea what their problem was. In truth I really didn't care what their problem was. I was not there to worry about how kids should act.

I was doing my best not to show my temper, but it was rather hard with the fact that I could not leave the room. I tried to ignore them but for some reason the kids would not leave me alone. One of them went as far as walking up to me and hit me in the face. At that point I could not control my temper any longer and I started to fight this boy.

Before I knew what was going on I was in the middle of them. Then one of the boys threw a punch at me. As I blocked that one the rest of them started in. I do not know how many times I got hit but I stood my ground. The fight only lasted for a couple of minutes before eleven of the twelve were lying on the floor. Every one of them where unconscious on the floor and then I stared at the last one standing. Although I was in a great deal of pain from the fight I did not take my eyes off the last boy.

The last boy drew out a knife that had a six inch blade and started to come towards me. I grabbed the boy by the wrist and threw him to the floor several times. Although he kept getting back up I seemed to be unable to get him to release the blade he had. When he came at me again I slammed him into the floor with all my strength, but he just got back up.

I watched every move the boy made blocking most of his attacks, but he did get one in. The knife sliced across my chest I had only felt that kind of pain once before. As blood ran down my chest the boy came in once more. This time I did not try to block him instead I grabbed his arm and flipped him to the floor again. Once he was on the floor I was able to get the knife away from him and did not allow him to get back up by putting my knee hard into his chest.

Even to this day I do not know why I did what I did. I grabbed the boy by the shirt with one hand, pulled him up and slammed him against the wall. I then took the knife and stabbed the boy threw his left shoulder. I did this with so much power that the knife stuck into the wall leaving him hanging there. I then yelled "For what you have done I should have killed you! But I will let you live in shame knowing that the twelve of you could not beat one person. That is really pathetic."

The door to the room I was in quickly opened and two more guys ran in. Both of them were wearing gray uniforms. One was wearing a laser pistol, one was not. They both had metal rods in their hands and they quickly came at me. I was able to grab the first one and slammed him against the wall. He slid to the floor, but the second guy swung the rod and hit me in the back knocking me to the ground.

When I hit the ground I noticed that the guy that was on ground had the pistol. I then grabbed it and shot the one that was coming at me again. I quickly got to my feet as his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Then the other man started to get up and without thinking about it first I lowered the weapon and shot him as well. At that moment all I could think about was what the hell is going on here.

As I stood there motionless trying to figure out what was happening, a third man appeared in the door way. He slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him. This man was in a solid black uniform from head to foot. He was wearing two laser pistols and a sword on his back. As well as he had a black metal case he was carrying.

When he turned towards me after closing the door I raised my weapon pointing right at his chest and said "Whoever you are my advice is that you do not come any closer." "I'm not here to fight. If I were you would be dead already. I'm here to help and to give you some things." The man stated then set the case on the floor and opened it. During this time I still had not lowered my weapon.

After he opened the case he pulled out a tube that had silver looking liquid in it. He then pulled out a spray bottle and a towel. The man stood back up and walked over to me all the while I was pointing the weapon at him. When he was within arm's reach of me he stopped and said "You have lost a lot of blood. In this bottle is something to keep you from getting an infection. The stuff in this tube will seal that wound."

I looked at the man and stated "I want to see your face before anything happens." "That's fair enough. Here hold this." The man replied and handed me the small tube. He then removed his mask. When I saw his face somehow I knew he was telling me the truth, so I lowered my weapon and I allowed him to continue. "This is going to hurt a lot." The man said.

He started to clean the wound and then he said "My name is Frank Wallas." I told him mine and tried not to show the pain that I was in. While he cleaned my wound he said to me "That is one hell of a scar you have." I told him that it was from a bear attack and his eyes widened. He said that I was lucky to have survived the attack. I smiled at him and nodded.

When he finished he said "There is one more thing that I need you to let me do." I looked at Frank and asked "What's that?" He walked back over to the case and pulled out a syringe. "You need a shot so your body will produce more blood. Without it you will feel weak for a long while and you don't have the time to be weak." Frank stated.

I stared at him for a moment and then said "Ok I'll let you give me the shot." I was gripping the laser pistol in my hand tightly. Frank came back over to me and before he did anything he said "I should at least let you know that the weapon that you are holding will not do you much good. It is only for stunning someone. You are not the first one to get a hold of a weapon." I gave a little snicker and tossed that weapon to the floor.

I held my arm out for the shot and asked "So Frank what was this all about some kind of test?" He smiled at me, finished giving me the shot and said "No this was not a test. Although if it were I think that you would have passed it. You handled yourself quite well against twelve other men. That takes a lot of skill. These kids think that they harass anyone that is different than they are." "I see. Well I guess they will think next time before they try that again." I stated with a smile.

I was then lead out of the room given another shirt and introduced to a lot of people. Finally I was lead to Frank's home where I met his wife Gale. The two of them welcomed me into their home and taught me a lot of the skills I have today. I also learned that you, dad, Frank, and Gale all grew up together and were very close friends. As well as when I got there they had a ten year old boy. They named him Quincy.

The first month that I was there I was shot in the head by Quincy. Thankfully the weapon was on stun but left me unconscious for three days, and I was blind for a week. When I was able to see again my eyes were solid black like they are now. No one understood why they changed to black. Several of the doctors that checked me out said that there was no way that I should have lived after the accident. At the time I did not know how I could live through something like that, but I soon found out something about myself.

The incident was blamed on an accidental discharge. I chose to accept the findings even though I knew the truth. For some reason Quincy did not want me there and he thought that the stun to the head at close range would kill me. He was ten years old at the time so he could not be held accountable for his actions. According to Izainian law once a child reaches the age of twelve they can be held accountable for their actions, but at the time he was ten.

For the first six months I trained with Frank and Gale night and day. They taught me how to use my mind as a weapon as well as different hand weapons. I learned to distinguish the difference between an Izainian and a Zaxian. There is not much difference between the two. I have found that I have more Zaxian traits than Izainian. At that time I kept that information to myself.

When I was introduced to the Fleet Marshal she took me to meet another lady that wore the Elite uniform. This lady was in her nineties, but one would not know it by the way she lived. She told me that she could teach me all I need to know about honor and fighting, but because I was male I could never become one of the Elite. At the time I did not understand but I agreed and at the end of her training I had surpassed her knowledge.

She was amazed that I could learn so quickly. It took me less than a year of her training before the elder said that she could not teach me anything more. In a way I was proud that I learned all I could learn from her but in a way I felt that I needed to know more. The elder honored me by giving me these red glass beads that I have on my holsters and sheath. It was the closest thing she could give me to being an Elite Warrior. I wear the beads with pride because there is no other man that has them.

I also know that this lady does not train anyone any more. She claims that she is too old to train but I think that she could if she wanted to. Before she trained me the last person she trained was the Fleet Marshal. I was told that the Fleet Marshal trained you as well mother, but I never knew that you had become an Elite Warrior. I never understood why when I was growing up you trained me to use the sword, but it came in useful in my training.

In the five years that I have been gone I have risen in rank quite quickly. I am now a Captain in the Izainian military. I am also one of the few remaining protectors for the Fleet Marshal. There may not be a rank higher than Fleet Marshal but if I give the Marshal an order they have to follow it. It is the same with the other eleven protectors. The nice part is the others cannot give me an order because I am a higher rank than they are. There are also eleven other protectors I trained on a top secret mission.

For the last two years I have been involved in a top secret mission that unfortunately I can't discuss right now. What I can tell you that while I have been doing this mission I have learned something interesting. I have found out that this planet was used as a prison planet for the Izainian Government. As well as over the years we have been supplying the people of Earth with small amounts of our technology. Sadly that is what mostly caused the destruction eighty years ago.

I also learned that there is going to be an attack on this planet. That is why I'm back. I had to get you off this planet before the attack could happen. As well as I have been asked to have you return to active duty. Mother you were the Head Fleet Admiral just under the Fleet Marshal and she wants you back. You will be given your same rank when we return.

The Feet Marshal told me that if I left to get you I also had to extend the chance to leave to the whole town. If I refused I would not get the clearance to get you. In truth I would have left without clearance if I had to, but I agreed even though I did not want to. There is a chance that we won't be able to stop the attack. The chance is small, but I did not want to take that chance.

There are some other things I need to tell you, but at this time I can't. Because a lot of it is classified and until you return to Izainia you don't have the clearance. I cannot take the risk that things will get to the high command. I will say this much there is at least one person on Izainia that wants to see you. Also I'm married but that a long story as well.

…...

As Jimmy finished his story he checked the blade of his sword one final time making sure all the nicks were gone and put it away. He sat back to see what his mother had to say. Jean looked at him and said "That's quite a story." She then got up and moved around. "The whole thing is true mother." Jimmy stated. "I believe it to be all true. The hard part for me to believe is Earth being a prison planet." She replied.

Jean looked at him and said "I'll accept that for now. I always knew that someday I would be called back to duty. Although I never thought that they would let me keep my rank." She came back to the couch and sat down again, but she could not look Jimmy in the eye. "What is the wrong mother?" He asked. She took a deep breath and said "When your father and I came here we said we would never go back." Jimmy just gave her a nod.

Jean remained silent for a moment, she then looked right at Jimmy and stated "After all these years I have decided that I do want to go back. I miss the action and the danger." Jean smiled at him and Jimmy replied with "That is what I wanted to hear. We don't have a lot of time and I have to extend the invitation to leave to the people of the town." "You will have to bring it to the Mayor first it is up to him to call a town meeting." Jean stated.

He looked at his mother and said "It would be easier just to make the statement to the town and not go through the Mayor." Jean shook her head and stated "You're forgetting about Izainian law. Jimmy you have to go through the proper channels or it is not legal." "I'm not forgetting the law I just think that it would be easier my way." Jimmy replied. His mother just smiled and shook her head at his statement.

Jimmy quickly turned his head towards the door listening closely. A moment later he said "Brace yourself mother, company is coming." Jimmy got up and walked to the door. His mother followed him and as she got to the door a streak of red light shot across the sky, followed by a loud roar of thunder. They both watched as a red light circled back toward the house. Jean saw the ship and knew right away that it was not Izainian it did look familiar to her, but she could not place it.

The ship came in close to the house and hovered about twenty feet off the ground. As it hovered Jimmy noticed that it was unstable. The ship started to descend to fast and did not put its landing struts down. When it was about five feet from the ground Jimmy pushed his mother back into the house and onto the floor. A moment later the ship slammed into the ground throwing a dust cloud into the air that covered the house.

As the dust cleared, both Jimmy and his mother got up off the floor. Jimmy quickly confirmed that his mother was alright and Jean asked "What happened to that ship? Why did she slam into the ground?" Looking out the door Jimmy replied with "I'm not sure, but something had to have happened to the pilot. Wait here I will check to see if it is safe to proceed."

Before Jimmy could head out of the house Jean took him by the arm and said "This is my home and I will not hide inside of it while you put yourself into danger Jimmy." He stared at her for a moment then took a deep breath and stated with a nod "Be careful mother." When Jean gave him a nod Jimmy took out one of his laser pistols and handed it to his mother.

When Jean took the weapon Jimmy stated "Mom the weapon is set to kill. Please do not use it unless there is no other choice." Jean cocked her head looking at him and then with Jimmy looking at her she flipped the switch from kill to stun. Jimmy just smiled at her and then turned for the door. Jean followed close behind him.

As they stepped outside the house the two of them saw a man lying on the ground next to the ship. The man was dressed all in black and it appeared that he walked out of the ship then fell to the ground. Realizing who the man was Jimmy yelled "Rawool!" He then ran over to the man. As Jimmy got to the man lying on the ground he was relieved to see that he had just passed out.

Jimmy checked Rawool over and realized that he had lost a lot of blood. He then lifted Rawool's shirt revealing a new scar across his stomach. The one thing Rawool had going for himself was that he had sealed the wound. Shaking his head Jimmy stated "You don't know how lucky you are to be alive right now Rawool."

He then looked at his mother and said "I have to get him inside." Jean nodded to him and then Jimmy picked Rawool's lifeless body up and carried him into the house. Jean watched and was amazed that Jimmy had the strength to pick the other man up. She thought by looking at Rawool that he weighed almost two hundred pounds, and Jimmy picked him up without straining at all.

Once back in the house Jimmy placed him on the couch. He then turned to his mother and said "I saw in your storage a blood accelerant syringe I need it." Jean quickly went over retrieved the syringe and brought it back to him. Realizing that the man on the couch was not Izainian she said "Jimmy I know what you're trying to do but he is a Zax and the accelerant will not work on him." Without looking up from what he was doing Jimmy pulled a small vile out of his belt. Handing the vile to his mother he said "I know you will have to add this to the accelerant."

Jean took the vile unscrewed the back of the syringe and poured the contents from the vial into it. "This looks and smells like blood Jimmy." She stated. Jimmy smiled and said "That is because it is. It is a very concentrated amount of my own blood. I will explain later how it works." Jean nodded sealed the syringe again and handed it to him. Once he had the syringe Jimmy shook it up and injected the contents into Rawool's arm.

"He should be fine in about ten minutes. Please keep an eye on him I have to check the ship to see if she can still fly." Jimmy said to his mother and she nodded in reply. "Be careful he may be confused when he wakes up, and remember he is not your enemy mother." Jimmy stated. She looked at Jimmy and stated "Zaxian's have not been my enemy for a long time now." Jimmy nodded and went to check on Rawool's ship.

Jean sat next to Rawool and looked at his face. There was a patch over his right eye, and a scar that went down the right side of his face from his hair line to his chin. Other than that Rawool's face was flawlessly perfect. As well as he had an extremely muscular build under his skin tight uniform. Even though Zaxian's always seem to have a youthful appearance, Jean thought that he could not be as old as Jimmy is.

As she lifted his shirt to look at his wound to make sure that it was still sealed, Rawool opened his one eye and asked "How is it?" Jean looked up at him then back at the wound and said "It's not going to be pretty but your wound will heal." "It seems to be the story of my life." Rawool stated and tried to get up. Jean put a hand on his chest and said "You need to relax for now, whatever you need to do can wait for five minutes."

Rawool stared at her for a moment then he asked "Who are you and what makes you think you can stop me from getting up?" "It would not be hard to stop you from getting up. At this point you are in no shape to do anything to stop me." Jean replied. Rawool tried to get up once more and Jean placed her hand on his wound. She then pressed lightly on it causing great pain to Rawool until he relaxed again. She then stated "See what I mean? Now relax until I say otherwise. To answer your other question my name is Jean."

As he relaxed on the couch Jean removed her hand and said "I'm sorry I had to do that but you seem to be as hard headed as Jimmy." "Yes I hear that a lot. You are Jimmy's mother aren't you?" He asked. Jean nodded and smiled. Rawool gave a small smile in return then stated "Jimmy talks a lot about you. I like it when he talks about you because I lost my mother when I was very young." "I'm sad to hear that you lost your mother. It is nice to know that Jimmy talks about me to you." Jean replied.

Rawool looked at her and said "I am four years older than Jimmy and was brought up to be a leader, but even though he is younger than me I respect him." Jean gave a slight smile and asked "How long have you known Jimmy?" "I met him almost four years ago and he has taught me a lot about honor." Jean nodded and then remained silent for a while.

While Jean sat with him she said "If you don't mind me asking what happened to your face?" Rawool gave a smirk and replied "Someone I thought was the enemy and now I call him a brother. I attacked him and he gave me this but in turn he allowed me to live. At the time I did not understand why, but now I do." He finished his statement pointing towards his ship. Jean nodded realizing that it was Jimmy who had done it.

Jean got up from the couch and looked out the window, just in time to hear Jimmy power up the ship in the yard. There was a whine and a loud roar from the engines as the ship lifted from the ground. It hovered about ten feet in the air and then she saw the landing struts deploy. The ship then gently landed again. Once on the ground again it powered down Jimmy got out of the ship.

Now with the ship back on the ground Jean got a good look at it. The ship looked to be a little over one hundred meters long and its height and width was equal in mass to its size. From the way the ship looked it seemed like it had more engine and weaponry then it should. Although that was the way Zaxian's made their ships fast and powerful.

The ship looked almost oval in shape with a flat bottom. There were what appeared to be wings that were on the sides of the ship that came out to about six feet on both sides. The engines looked to be four tubes connected to the back side of the ship and looked like they could be detached. The ship had eight laser cannons on rotators. To someone the ship would look like a well-armed cargo ship.

When Jimmy stepped out of the ship once again he was shaking his head. Watching from the door Jean asked "Is she able to fly?" Still shaking his head Jimmy responded with "It would appear that there is nothing wrong with the ship. There is not even a haul breach or any other kind of damage that I can find on her." "That is Zaxian engineering." Jean replied with a smile.

As Jimmy walked back into the house he looked at Rawool and said "I'm surprised that you're sitting up already. I thought that you would be still lying down." Jean gave Rawool a glare and stated "I said not to move until I said you could. Don't make me put you over my knee young man and don't think I can't." Jimmy gave a big smile and said "I believe that she would be able to even if you were at full strength." "I'm not going anywhere yet Jean I just had to sit up." Rawool replied. She nodded with his compliance.

While he sat on the couch pointed at the mirror and said "We have a visitor." Noticing that with where Rawool sat he could see outside through the reflection in the mirror, Jimmy and Jean both looked out the door. "I cannot see anything." Jean stated. "I can." Jimmy replied pointing to the tree line just outside of the yard. "It's the young boy that has been following me since I left Carlson's house." He stated.

Jean looked in the area that Jimmy was pointing and saw the boy. She then scanned the area around him and said "He's not alone." Jimmy quickly looked the area over smiled and then said "I see what you mean. Nanook is watching him and I do not think the boy knows." Both of them walked back over to the couch and sat down next to Rawool.

"You landed the ship pretty hard. I checked her out and she is intact. I was actually surprised that there was no damage done to the ship." Jimmy said. Rawool looked at him and stated "I don't remember landing." "That does not surprise me. You had lost a lot of blood. What happened and why are you here?" Jimmy replied. Rawool shook his head and his face saddened then went emotionless.

Without showing any pain he stood up and moved away from the couch. Jean tried to stop him but Rawool shook his head and she stopped. He then turned around and stated "The fleet Marshal is missing and all her protectors are dead." He paused clenched his fists and continued "My father is dead as well as his protectors are too except me."

Jimmy's heart was filled with sadness and anger with what he heard. Still sitting on the couch he took a deep breath and asked "How can twenty one protectors be killed?" When no answer came he stood up, looked at Rawool and asked "Is Kameri ok?" "Yes she is fine. She is with –." Rawool started to say and was cut off by a glance from Jimmy. He then nodded and said "I understand."

Jean looked at Jimmy and said "I figure that Kameri is your wife. Why do you not want me to know who she is with?" Jimmy shook his head and stated "I will explain in time but now is not the time. I'm sorry." "I do not like secrets Jimmy. They always end up hurting someone in the long run." Jean said sternly. "I know mother but I'm going to keep this one for now." He replied. She stared at him for a moment and said "Fine."

Jimmy looked at his mother for another moment with a sad look on his face. He really wanted to tell her who his wife was with, but he thought that it would be better not to. He then turned back to Rawool and asked "Are the renegades still planning their attack?" Rawool nodded and said "Yes they are, but their numbers have increased to double from the time you have left." "Sad things are happening. Both our great powers want peace but there are always a few that don't." Jimmy said

Jimmy then said "Rawool return to Izainia, don't worry about the Fleet Marshal I know where she is. What I want you to do is get to Gulyith and ready the rest of the fleet. I will be there in two days to take command." "I understand and we will be ready for you." Rawool said and started out the door. "One more thing Rawool, your father is not dead." Jimmy stated.

Rawool stopped dead in his tracks looked at him and said "I watched him get shot Jimmy." "No Rawool your father is on Zaxia and is safe. I sent him home and put a decoy in his place because I could not trust anyone. For now continue to play off the fact that you think your father is dead. It would be safer for him." Rawool nodded to him and then got into his ship.

Standing on the loading ramp Rawool turned and said "Thank you Jimmy for not trusting anyone." Jimmy nodded and then stated "Trust has to be earned not just bestowed on someone." Rawool smiled and then replied with "That it does. Goodbye Jean I will see you soon." She gave Rawool a smile and a nod as he closed the loading ramp behind him.

As the ship started to power up Jean asked "What's the Gulyith?" "That's the top secret mission I have been working on. The Gulyith is a very powerful ship that was built in secret with the Izainian and the Zaxian governments. For the most part our two planets have been at peace for the last two years, but like with all peace there are a few on both sides that don't want it." "Yes I know that's true we tried it many years ago and it fell apart." Jean replied.

He looked at his mother for a while and then said "I know. I have read about that time it was a very volatile time between Izainia and Zaxia." Jean stared at him for a moment and then asked "How could you have read about that time?" "I know that that information was classified. I will explain it later to you mother." Jean just gave him a nod.

They both watched as the ship ascended from the ground and high into the sky. He then said "Both this ship and the Gulyith have a new kind of engine that will allow the fastest travel possible. It will take us two days to get to Izainia but Rawool will get there in twelve hours." "How is that possible?" Jean asked. Jimmy looked at her and something in the back of his mind told him that she already knew. He then stated "At this time I don't think I could explain it all too good." Jean nodded and smiled at him.

When the ship was completely out of sight Nanook walked out of the woods. He then said "The boy is gone he left as the ship took off." Jimmy nodded and Jean said "I really wonder who he is. I know I have seen him before." "Well for now let us not worry about that, we need to head to town." Jimmy stated and the three of them headed in the direction of the town.


End file.
